Louise Leitch grew up in Australia where she established a successful career directing television drama. After moving to New Zealand Louise directed her first short film, Whakatiki, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival, New York in 2012 and screened at more than 20 film festivals. Whakatiki won Best Short Film at the Montreal First Peoples’ Festival and Best Actress in a Short Film at the 2012 New Zealand Film Awards and Wairoa Film Festival. Louise followed up with the award-winning short film, Blankets, with screenings at Palm Springs Shortfest, Hawaii and Montreal World Film Festivals. Dancers is Louise’s third short film.

Louise Leitch:

I was in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake that killed 185 people. During that disaster I heard of ordinary men and women putting themselves at considerable risk to help others, to pull people from rubble or comfort a dying stranger. I was incredibly moved by what happened in Christchurch that day and it was clear to me that humankind has a tremendous capacity for kindness and heroism. Despite the different context, my experience of this disaster has given me a strong connection to Dancers and the humanity that lies at the heart of our story. For me, Dancers is about exploring the deep connection that can develop between two people under duress and how ordinary people can step up and respond in heroic ways.